Girls swimming: St. Charles schools team up to help For Scout Foundation
Normally you can expect to see a sea of blue and orange when St. Charles East and St. Charles North meet in an athletic event.
However, pink was the preferred choice on Thursday during the teams' annual girls swimming dual meet.
For the record, the North Stars won the meet, 108-78.
But everyone involved came away feeling like a champion.
The two teams raised a total of $5,400 toward the For Scout Foundation, which was created by the Cantrell family (Tony, Felicity and older sister Katie) 5 years ago to honor and life and legacy of their beloved daughter and sister, Scout, who passed away in October of 2014 from complications from an asthma attack at the age of 9.
Since 2014, the For Scout Foundation has raised more than $245,000.
"In a perfect world, Scout would be here," said her mom, Felicity. "She would be a freshman right now and she'd be swimming her first North-East meet.
"We are so humbled that both schools chose our Foundation to honor. This isn't really about North and East tonight - this is about a group of girls in pink swim caps honoring a cause that is bigger than themselves."
Pink - Scout's favorite color - could be seen throughout St. Charles North's aquatic center with the T-shirts worn by swimmers and coaches alike.
North Stars coach Rob Rooney admitted things were a little different with since-graduated Katie Cantrell away at college.
"It felt very weird not having Katie here to kind of help navigate some things for us," said Rooney. "It was a learning curve for us - to completely honor the family and give to the Foundation the way we're supposed to."
Saints coach Julia Oelslager echoed similar sentiments.
"When you bring the two schools together, it's always a great, emotional and passionate meet," said Oelslager.
"I had the pleasure of coaching Scout (Cantrell) when she was nine. It's a great family and it hits a special place in my heart. The Foundation does some incredible things for the community. Any way we can continue to contribute - I'm always on board."
As for the meet, the North Stars provided the exclamation point in the final event.
Led by Paige Armstrong, Mary Kate Phillips, Mary Ellen Wolff and anchor Julia Fifer, the North Stars rallied to edge the Saints by .03 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
"It was great for Julia Fifer," said Rooney. "She's one of the hardest working kids I've got. She never gives up.
"A year ago as a freshman, I was going to put her on JV and she looked me in the eye and said, 'No, I'm going to learn from the girls that are here.'"
The Saints received individual victories from junior Molly Yetter (24.68 in the 50 free) and senior Mary Jania in the 100 breast (1:06.01).
"Everyone raced consistently or faster," said Oelslager. "That's all I can ask for as a coach."
St. Charles North won 8 of 12 events, including defending state champion Megan Armstrong in the 100 back (57.11) and Izabella Del Rosario in the 100 fly (59.99).
"From top to bottom, it was an awesome day," said Rooney.